US Iran war updates LIVE: Iran’s Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said while good progress has been made in negotiations, there are many gaps and some fundamental points.
US Iran war updates LIVE: The final agreement between Iran and the United States is still far, though progress had been made in negotiations to end the war, Iran’s parliamentary speaker said on Saturday night. “We are still far from the final discussion,” Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, who is also one of Iran’s negotiators, said in a national televised address, adding “we made progress in the negotiations, but there are many gaps and some fundamental points remain”. US President Donald Trump also cited “very good conversations” with Tehran despite warning against “blackmail” over the key shipping channel.
The war is now in its eighth week and a two-week pause to fighting ends on April 22. Thousands have been killed and attacks spread to Israeli attacks in Lebanon and sent oil prices surging because of the de facto closure of the strait, which before the war carried one-fifth of the world’s oil shipments.
Iran’s Hormuz u-turn
In a u-turn of its order to reopen Hormuz, Iran on Saturday reasserted control over the strait, again closing the energy choke point and adding fresh uncertainty to the war, which the US and Israel launched on February 28.
Iran said it was responding to a continued US blockade of Iranian ports, calling it a violation of the ceasefire, while Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei said Iran’s navy was ready to inflict “new bitter defeats” on its enemies. Trump called the move “blackmail” even as he praised the talks.
On Friday, Iran had announced the temporary reopening of the Strait of Hormuz following a separate US-brokered 10-day ceasefire agreement on Thursday between Israel and Lebanon.
Israel-Lebanon ceasefire in tatters
However, uncertainty looms over the ceasefire as Israeli army has confirmed carrying out fresh strikes on what it described as threats south of the new “yellow line” in Lebanon, Al Jazeera reported.
Beirut-based correspondent reported that, along with ongoing artillery shelling and machinegun fire on several villages, Israel launched two air strikes on Sunday, as per a report by Al Jazeera.
One of the strikes targeted a group of Hezbollah fighters who, according to Israel, were approaching the yellow line but had not crossed it. “So that actually indicates that they were to the north of it and not inside it,” she noted, as per Al Jazeera.
The second strike was aimed at an individual approaching a tunnel entrance south of the yellow line, according to Al Jazeera.
Israel said it “carried out a strike on him and destroyed that tunnel entrance,” the correspondent added, noting that the Israeli military spokesperson maintained the action did not violate the ceasefire, Al Jazeera reported.
The war is now in its eighth week and a two-week pause to fighting ends on April 22. Thousands have been killed and attacks spread to Israeli attacks in Lebanon and sent oil prices surging because of the de facto closure of the strait, which before the war carried one-fifth of the world’s oil shipments.
Iran’s Hormuz u-turn
In a u-turn of its order to reopen Hormuz, Iran on Saturday reasserted control over the strait, again closing the energy choke point and adding fresh uncertainty to the war, which the US and Israel launched on February 28.
Iran said it was responding to a continued US blockade of Iranian ports, calling it a violation of the ceasefire, while Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei said Iran’s navy was ready to inflict “new bitter defeats” on its enemies. Trump called the move “blackmail” even as he praised the talks.
On Friday, Iran had announced the temporary reopening of the Strait of Hormuz following a separate US-brokered 10-day ceasefire agreement on Thursday between Israel and Lebanon.
Israel-Lebanon ceasefire in tatters
However, uncertainty looms over the ceasefire as Israeli army has confirmed carrying out fresh strikes on what it described as threats south of the new “yellow line” in Lebanon, Al Jazeera reported.
Beirut-based correspondent reported that, along with ongoing artillery shelling and machinegun fire on several villages, Israel launched two air strikes on Sunday, as per a report by Al Jazeera.
One of the strikes targeted a group of Hezbollah fighters who, according to Israel, were approaching the yellow line but had not crossed it. “So that actually indicates that they were to the north of it and not inside it,” she noted, as per Al Jazeera.
The second strike was aimed at an individual approaching a tunnel entrance south of the yellow line, according to Al Jazeera.
Israel said it “carried out a strike on him and destroyed that tunnel entrance,” the correspondent added, noting that the Israeli military spokesperson maintained the action did not violate the ceasefire, Al Jazeera reported.
Follow all the updates here:
Apr 19, 2026 7:20:26 AM IST
US Iran war updates LIVE: Hormuz to stay shut until port blockade lifts, Iran says
US Iran war updates LIVE: The crucial Strait of Hormuz will not reopen until the United States lifts its naval blockade on Iranian ports, Tehran said Saturday, as a top official warned that a final peace deal remained “far” off.
Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, speaker of the Iranian parliament, said in a televised address that there has been “progress” in talks with Washington “but there are many gaps and some fundamental points remain.”
“We are still far from the final discussion,” said Ghalibaf, one of Tehran’s negotiators in the talks aimed at ending the war launched by Israel and the United States against the Islamic Republic.
Apr 19, 2026 7:09:51 AM IST
US Iran war updates LIVE: Good conversation, says Trump
US Iran war updates LIVE: US President Donald Trump cited “very good conversations” with Tehran despite warning against “blackmail” over the the Strait of Hormuz after Iran reimposed the closure on Saturday. Iran said it was responding to a continued US blockade of Iranian ports, calling it a violation of the ceasefire, while Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei said Iran’s navy was ready to inflict “new bitter defeats” on its enemies. Trump called the move “blackmail” even as he praised the talks.
Apr 19, 2026 7:04:40 AM IST
US Iran war updates LIVE: No deal so far, despite good progress in talks, says Iran’s Ghalibaf
US Iran war updates LIVE: The final agreement between Iran and the United States is still far, though progress had been made in negotiations to end the war, Iran’s parliamentary speaker said on Saturday night.
“We are still far from the final discussion,” Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, who is also one of Iran’s negotiators, said in a national televised address, adding “we made progress in the negotiations, but there are many gaps and some fundamental points remain”.
🚨 BREAKING: Watch the full clip here ➤
